Liver mets: resection, ablation, SBRT, Y-90, anything else?
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Z, my markers are all normal.
Babs, it is interesting, my IR said that I shouldn't have anyone 3 inches near my abdomen. He said the radioactive beads travel/emit 2mm to 1.3cm max. He said my 3 year old can be in same room, just not on my lap or against my side and that I should sleep in a different room from DH for 3 days and use different bathroom than my family and flush several times because urine is radioactive. The urine seemed to be his biggest concern with being around my son, DH or anyone else. I was surprised about 3 inches as I had always heard similar to what you noted. I thought I would need to stay somewhere else for 3 days.
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JFL I was also told about the urine- thankfully when I took my apt in the city I insisted on 1 1/2 baths. We've had to use it due to chemo and now this. My DH and I were allowed to sleep in our respective corners of our king bed as per the IR.
I met with my MO today. She wants me to stay on Doxil at least until after the Y90 on 4/6. Since its working on the liver mets she wants to bang the dickens out of the liver before we make any changes. Sounded reasonable to me so I agreed and had my infusion tonight. Plus, she said that the radiologist felt that what is going on in my lungs is more inflammatory in nature. Hope so!
Babs
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It seems to me every IR has their own, sometimes very different, ideas on who to stay away from and for how long. I have a friend who had a y90 about 6 months before mine, she told me all this extreme precautions her IR had do. Then when I talked to my IR his advice was completely different, more like what yours are saying. I think the best advice comes from our own IR.
I think my lung and chest mets don't bother my MO much, it's like since the the liver mets got bombed. She's much less worried about me. I have numerous mets that are still active and i do have SOB at times but it does not seem important to her since the liver mets show no uptake. Do you think that's true? Are liver mets just so much more aggressive and stubborn that once they are under control MO's can stop being as aggressive? I hope not. I still want her to be doing the maximum for me, regardless of where my mets are.💞
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Grannax, liver mets are certainly tricky buggers. The microenvironment in the liver is a rich feast of resources and options for them to grow in countless ways and find new paths when one is blocked. All of the blood and oxygen in the organ and all of the sugar and fructose stored there makes things very easy for those damn buggers to thrive. I have heard that lung mets tend to do better than liver but like all of this, everything is person by person. Things can change on a dime which is one of the worst things about this disease. I have an outlook like you that it is important to focus on and defend against all cancer activity, wherever it is located. In the beginning, my bones were putting me in a life-threating predicament with uncontrollable hypercalcemia. No metastatic breast cancer, regardless of location, is acceptable to blow off!
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Has anyone out there had SBRT or am I all alone? 12 month follow-up scan April 9th anyone out there with me?
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bstein Zarvoka had sbrt. 💞
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bstein, I had SBRT in January to my spine. I had it because I had one stubborn spot on my spine that progressed while on Kadcyla (TDM1). It was apparently the same spot that had earlierflared up with progression when I was on just Herceptin and Perjeta leading to the switch to Kadcyla. The Kadcyla has otherwise been holding things in check (liver & bones) so the strategy was to do the SBRT and keep my run going on Kadcyla. I don't yet know the outcome as I'm scheduled for my first post-SBRT scan in April. I'm interested to hear from others about their experiences.
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bstein - I had SBRT to get rid of a sternum met that was not responding to anything. different local treatments for different situations.
>Z<
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I am relieved to hear about your experience with Y90 because it's been a month and I am SO tired all the time. Also, my GI system is all messed up. Did that happen to you? I am so frustrated with feeling this way.
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I had my bland embolization yesterday and will be getting my RFA done today.
I really didnt know what to expect for the embolization. This website really did a good job explaining the procedure. I had slight sedation, but was pretty aware the entire time; the procedure lasted about an hour. A little discomfort when they inserted the catheter, but otherwise no pain or pressure. After, I’ve had some abdominal pain/cramping, which the doctor said is normal and should go away after a day or so. It can be done outpatient, but because of RFA today, they just kept me overnight in the hospital to make things easier. I had to lie flat for four hours after to ensure no bleeding.
The IR did the procedure for two main reasons- the embolization cuts off blood flow to the tumor and the injected dye will help him visualize things better for the RFA. He was pleased by the uptake of dye in the tumor and said I was “lucky” in that only one artery is feeding my tumor(s). He still isnt sure if its one or a conglomeration of a few, but anytime I’m told I am lucky, I will take it! Will report back after the RFA!
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kaufmanscsi-it took me 6 weeks to get over the fatigue from the Y90. I seem to be one of the slower ones to recover as Grannax2 and Babs bounced back much quicker. That being said it will affect us all differently and do not hold yourself to any set time table. I still have GI issues but I think some of mine are from the perjeta. I ended up losing my gallbladder last year and when it came out it was noted to be full of sledge and some of the spheres. I believe that one or two must have gone rogue from the Y90. I hope you are feeling better by now. Just keep moving forward.
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jamiemarie I'm glad you found this thread. It has been a great help to me, too. Hoping for a great outcome for you today. Will you have to have the other lobe done too? I did but it was about a month out from the first one.💞
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jamiemarie-hope you are feeling good and that everything went as planned with the RFA yesterday. Please check in when you can.
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Hi Grannax and BabyRuth, thank you for thinking of me! I’m back home after the RFA, by all accounts, IR was really pleased. Recovery has been a bear, though, I’m in quite a bit of pain. I was supposed to go home after the procedure on Tuesday, but couldnt get my pain under control, so stayed another day. The dr said that was to be expected, though- he ablated a lot of tumor, it was close to my lung, and it was in/close to my nerve capsule. I wasnt expecting the pain, though, so its been a bit rough!
I have a follow up CT scan in a month to see how things are looking. Grannax, my tumors are all on one lobe, so I dont need the other lobe done at this point. I’m excited to be done and hopefully see good results, but the pain has really dampened things a lot! Hoping it will get better quickly!!
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JamieMarie, glad your RFA went well! Unexpected pain can be tough. I hope your recovery goes smoothly going forward
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jamiemarie. Glad you're home but sorry to hear about the pain. I didn't have that but I guess it does depend on there they are. Praying for good results.💞
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Jamiemarie -so glad to hear you are home and resting. It sounds like the procedure went well. Hope you CT scan gives you great results!
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janiemarie I had pain after my SBRT to my liver area. I wasn’t expecting it either, quite uncomfortable and scary. My first CT scan was alarming with stat calls to every Dr. It was just local reaction to the radiation. 9 month post CT showed no evidence of metastatic disease. 12 month follow up CT is April 9. Pain was unexpected but was good news for me!
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Hi Bstein, thanks for info on your experience! I really appreciate it, it helps me immensely! I think i had heard “go home same day” and decided it wouldnt be bad. And then was completely caught off guard. I am getting stronger each day, albeit slowly!I am concerned about my first set of labs, though. Good luck at your 12 month CT- fingers crossed for continued great results!
Grannax, JFL, and BabyRuth thank you for the kind words and support. I appreciate it! Count me as another whose MO wasnt convinced about targeted therapy, but seeing you strong women advocating for yourself helped give me the confidence to do the same. JFL, so excited for your mapping coming up!
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hi Jamie,
I hope your pain is getting better. I had ablation in 2011 and I remember having pain/ tenderness for a couple of weeks. The good thing is that I have been Ned since the ablation. I hope you have as good as results as I did.
Lauri
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Lauriesh, 7 years NED!? Amazing. Congratulations!
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Hi Laurie, wow thats amazing! Congratulations! That gives me so much hope!
It makes me feel oddly comforted that you had pain too, I feel after getting better each day, I took a step back today. I held off on narcotics so I could make a quick trip to the grocery store (I know, I know!) and then think i waited too long to take something and am struggling to get the pain back under control.
Nothing like pain and feeling poorly to remember all is not well
Im a single mom, and my parents had to head back today, so it feels defeating when i can’t watch my four year old.Im not really sure that I can manage going back to work Monday yet either, which is giving me some anxiety! I just need to cut myself some slack and rest! 
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JFL, just stopping in to say i hope your mapping went great today!
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jamiemarie- how are you feeling? Is the pain level getting more tolerable?
JFL- glad to see you are done with the mapping and ready for the next step.
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Am n recovery now. Had by second y 90. All went well. Will update
Babs
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Babe, I am glad all went well with your 2nd Y-90 procedure. I hope you recovery is quick and painless and the results are nothing short of spectacular! You are amazing.
Hugs and prayers from, Lynne
P.S.I saw the picture on another thread of all your beautiful grandchildren together. What a special time it was to have both your children and all your grandchildren together. Just thinking about it makes me smile.
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YAY. Babs. Here's hoping that you just had your LAST y90! You are now officially in the y90 Club. How many are in this club now? BabyRuth, JFL, Babs and I know there are more besides me. Z will be in the Tace club soon. I wish we didnt have to wait to see the good results.💞
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I forgot jamiemarie, sorry.
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Great news Babs! Funny you are texting in recovery!
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And kaufmanscal, sorry again. 😕 My memory ain't what it used to be. I think there are several waiting for the right timing to have theirs done. The club sure has more members than when I had mine one year ago.💞
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